This is Amy Wagenaar from the Historical Society of Michigan with a Michigan History moment. Michigan's Upper Peninsula has had its fair share of non traditional crops, from peanuts to cranberries to celery to tobacco. Farmers have been determined to strike a profit from these agricultural endeavors despite the UP's unique challenges. But mint. One of Michigan's little known ventures was an experimental peppermint farm located north of Manistique in the Upper peninsula. During the 1920s, the land owned by Marquette University in Wisconsin was deemed suitable for agriculture. The university decided to try it, hoping to grow potentially profitable crops on experimental farms. The those plots would then be sold to farmers at $5 per acre for a profit. Between 1923 and 1926, the agricultural specialists assigned to the project selected and successfully grew sunflowers, peas, barley, sugar beets, potatoes, turnips and onions for the next harvest. One of the crops they selected was peppermint. As a perennial, peppermint propagates itself by spreading runners out from the crown of the growing plant. Starting the UP peppermint field required taking roots from an existing field and planting them into the new location. The idea was that once the mint was initially planted, the field would self propagate. On May 2, 1927, peppermint roots from South Bend, Indiana arrived by railway to the Upper Peninsula and were hand transplanted into their plots, a process that took several weeks. Peppermint plants are normally harvested by scythe or mowing machine between mid August and early September. Once collected, the plants are placed in a large distillation vat and the steam is passed through to extract the oil. The first harvest was a success. The Wrigley Gum Company in Chicago purchased a shipment of peppermint oil, a sale that was very encouraging to the specialists. The up. Soon more land was allotted to the planting and harvesting of peppermint. However, the experimental farm withered as quickly as it boomed. An early frost hit the up, damaging the peppermint plants just as the price per pound of mint oil plummeted. Then the US stock market crashed in October 1929. As a result, the peppermint farm lost money. The experimental farm soon ended. To offset the loss, Marquette University allowed some of the land to revert to the state of Michigan. The federal government bought other portions for forest reserves. Today, much of the property is part of the Hiawatha National Forest. This Michigan history moment was brought to you by michiganhistorymagazine.org.